


Monochrome Magic

by thehazelverse



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Circus, Contortionist!saeko, F/F, Magical Realism, illusionist!Kiyoko
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-04-13 00:15:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4500354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehazelverse/pseuds/thehazelverse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>The circus arrived on a late summer's evening, out of the blue, with no prior notice or advertisements anywhere....</i>
</p><p> </p><p>For Day 7 of Hq Girls Week- AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	Monochrome Magic

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaaa this is late but I hope you enjoy!!!!
> 
> This work was heavily influenced/inspired by the book 'the night circus' by Eren Morgenstern ^_^ the imagery in it is beautiful I totally recommend it!!

The circus arrived on a late summer's evening, out of the blue, with no prior notice or advertisements anywhere. 

No rumors had been spread; one minute the fields where empty, the next, they were filled with dozens of monochrome style tents and lanterns to light the area. Yachi said said it appeared as if by magic; her mother laughed at the irony.

“Circuses are nothing but cheap and gimmicky,” she had said while they ate their dinner, “they rob you of your money and give lousy entertainment to show for it. I don’t want you doing anywhere near those tents."

Yachi eventually agreed, just to keep her mother off her case, but now that she was sitting at her desk and paying more attention to the view outside her window than her sketchbook, she wondered if she'd be able to keep her word.

The circus; it was calling to her, with every flicker of movement in the crowds, and each sound of audiences awing at the marvelous sights she was missing out on. Ever since the queues of people were let into the circus at sundown, Yachi had felt a deep longing to be one of the many lucky people getting to experience the circus firsthand.

Everyone in town was probably there. Why did her mother have to be so uptight about things she didn't understand? Why did she have to see the world through a tiny pinhole, covered by a filter of prejudices? Yachi did love her mother, but sometimes she wished her mother would just let her have her own opinions, instead of forcing her own ones on her daughter.

She stared out her window; maybe if she concentrated hard enough, the circus would come to her and appear in her room, miniature sized. It was a silly thought, but at this point, she was feeling a little desperate to see it. Her mind was made up.

She had already put on her pyjamas, but that didn't matter. What she needed was a warm jacket and shoes, so she took out the winter coat, hibernating in the back of her wardrobe, and put it on. The thick fabric reached all the way to her knees- it was perfect for hiding her pyjama trousers which had pink love hearts on them.

To make sure she didn't wake her parents up, Yachi tip-toed down the stairs silently. The floorboards creaked once in the way down -she panicked internally, just thinking about her mother walking running out and finding her sneaking off- but calmed herself down to walk the rest of the distance to the porch. Her shoes lay neatly at the back door and she slipped them on over her fluffy socks; they just fitted with them on and no more.

Taking one deep breath to boost her confidence; she took out her key, turned the lock and opened the door to step out into the chilly night air. One foot out the door - _oh my god, I can't believe I'm doing this_ \- then the other - _what if they wake up and I'm not there?_ \- she was eventually all the way out the house. 

It was her first taste of teenage rebellion, and it might not have been a big deal to all her other friends when they did it years ago, but goddamn was it a huge deal to her. 

She gently closed the door and locked it so it looked like she'd never left. A smile rose to her lips and she walked backwards to look at the full view of her house where she was supposed to be staying inside. Her heart was speeding up just like it usually did when in anxiety inducing situations, but this time it felt a little different. It wasn't choking her or pushing her down like a heavy weight. _Maybe this is adrenalin_ , she thought, _maybe this is what Hinata and Kageyama feel like when they’re on the court!_

Feeling a little giddy at her revelation, Yachi swung her front gate open and ran along the path towards the fields, all with a spring in her step. 

She walked into the field and over to where the ticket booth for getting inside the circus grounds was. A ginormous clock with a wooden crow perched on the top of it had been placed right beside the ticket booth, which was a little stall with a black and white striped canopy. The crow squawked when she approached the lady at the booth- the woman chuckled when Yachi jumped out of her skin at the sound.

"Oh don't mind him. Useless bird he is; doesn't understand he's supposed to squawk on the hour and not randomly!" She said casually, as if wooden birds making sounds was something normal to her.

Yachi pretended the lady's words didn't confuse her and handed over the money she took from the piggyback in her room before she left. It wasn't like the money was for anything important; she usually bought excessive amounts of stationary with her spare change, so it was nice for her to spend it on something different.

"Thank you," said the woman as she took the cash Yachi handed over in exchange for a ticket, "Enjoy your time at Karasuno Circus!"

She thanked the woman and joined the other groups of people making their way through each individual tent, marveling at the acrobats and magicians performing throughout the circus. 

The idea of dozens of little attractions instead of one big show excited her. All the sights, smells and sounds from each tent mingled into one whole experience. The atmosphere was electric and exhilarating and she didn’t know where to go next; the smell of candyfloss came from a stall in front of her- she had enough money left for a bite and she was starting to drool at the thought of sugary foods.

"Hi there!" 

Yachi jumped out her trance and turned around to see who was talking to her. What she didn't expect to see, however, was someone curled up in some impossible shape for a human being on a small stage beside her.

"Umm, hi!" Replied Yachi- her voice squeaked a bit from her initial surprise. The young woman on the stage unfurled from the right ball she was in and spread out her limbs, while moving into another strange position that involved her lying flat on her stomach and bending her legs so her feet reached the side of her head.

The young woman had a stylish blonde bob and was wearing a black, skin-tight suit that covered her whole body, other than her arms which were instead inked with many beautiful tattoos. Yachi could swear she saw a crow on the woman’s forearm move from its permanent inked position to snap its beak at a falling cherry blossom from the tree on her shoulder- but tattoos couldn't move, right?

She read the sign above the woman's head: _Saeko the contortionist,_ it said in fancy writing, just like the rest of the signs in the circus. Contortionist was a word Yachi was unfamiliar with, but she guessed it must mean someone who was really flexible.

“I like your outfit!” Said the woman while chuckling, “It’s very -hmmm, what’s the word I’m looking for here- quirky?”

Yachi looked down at her winter coat, which obviously wasn’t doing a good enough job at hiding her embarrassing and childish pyjama bottoms. She blushed and struggled to find the words to tell Saeko that no, this wasn’t how she usually dressed in public.

“Don’t worry sweetie, I was just teasing you,” she smiled and Yachi started to feel relieved she didn’t need to explain herself, “You’re obviously an escapee from the prison created by your parents! Not that I blame you to be honest; this place is pretty cool, and I’ve lived with the circus my whole life.”

Yachi checked the time- she'd already been here a while, and the longer she stayed here, the more likely her parents would wake up and find her bed empty.

"I should probably go now." She said and Saeko looked at her, confused.

"You can't leave yet! Not when you haven't seen our best act in the whole circus! I'll even get someone to take you there- hold on," the contortionist untangled herself, stood up straight and shouted, _"Ryuu, Noya! Get your asses over here!"_

Two boys (not much older than her) who Yachi had seen juggling torches of fire during her travels through the circus walked over to them. She had stayed far away from them before, wary of the fire they were throwing around in the air, but also because of the menacing faces they pulled. They were also topless, meaning Yachi had to avert her innocent eyes, but she couldn’t look at Saeko either when her skin-tight suit didn’t leave much to the imagination.

Saeko must have mistaken Yachi’s flusteredness for utter fear of the two other circus performers, giving that Saeko was now reassuring her by saying, “Don’t worry, they’re all bark and no bite- and even then, their bark is feeble compared to mine!”

A loud laugh came from Saeko that shook her whole body and she slapped the bald one on the back. He started shouting and they squabbled between themselves- _they must be siblings,_ thought Yachi. _They do look very similar..._

"What's your name?" the smaller one asked. He seemed a lot less intimidating- maybe because Yachi was around the same height as him.

"Yachi" she replied and the small circus performer grinned at her.

"Right this way Yachi!"

 

The two of them stood side by side at the entrance to the tent and pulled up the fabric on their respective sides to give Yachi plenty of room to walk through.

"Your so lucky Yachi! I wish I could stay and watch, but Shimizu-san would scold me if she saw my face in the audience."

Yachi wondered what this _Shimizu-san_ would be like. If she could scold the bald one, then she must be _terrifying!_ The thought made her want to back away from the tent, but their was no turning back now- not when a queue was developing behind her. The two boys gave her a thumbs up and she stepped into the tent that had _Kiyoko the illusionist_ written above the entrance.

Many other spectators had already taken a seat on one of the benches placed round the edge of the tent, so Yachi made sure to pick a good spot before someone else took it. She took a seat in the third row, where she had a good view of the centre of the tent, but she was out of the audience participation zone.

The lighting in the tent dimmed until it was almost pitch black and the a white puff of smoke suddenly emerged in the middle of the tent, and a figure dressed in a sleek black tailcoat suit stood amongst the wispy smoke. They bowed gracefully, tipping their top hat to release a large crow miraculously hidden inside.

clapping erupted from the audience, but Yachi could only stare in wonder and amazement. She leaned closer, as if the extra distance would give her a better view of the beautiful sight she saw in front of her. Shimizu-san, Kiyoko, _whatever she was supposed to call her,_ was the most gorgeous human being Yachi had ever seen in her life; from dark blue eyes that Yachi could drown in, to the beauty mark placed perfectly below her lip, Yachi was hypnotised.

The illusionist placed the top hat back on her head, covering the sleek dark locks that were tied up in a neat bun. She briefly smiled at the audience -the sight made Yachi's heart do cartwheels like a child in a field of daisies- then carried on with her performance, making objects appear and disappear with the flick of a wrist, or some magic words.

Every moment was awe inspiring and when Kiyoko did her last trick, where she turned her crow into a silk scarf and back again to a bird, she finished with another bow, her cheeks flushed. In a soft but regal voice she said to the audience, "thank you for coming," then picked up a large piece of material that had been used as a prop earlier, covered herself and then the cloth fell to the ground- the place where Kiyoko stood now empty.

Nearly everyone in the audience looked like they were about to burst into tears, including Yachi; the illusionist's performance was so beautiful, so elegant, it could move even the most strong willed of people.

Many of the people around Yachi though were now standing up and clapping, their hollering loud in Yachi's eardrums. She wanted to get out of the crowds that were now hastily making their way to the exit of the tent- she wanted the peaceful atmosphere that radiated off Kiyoko the illusionist and spread through her soul.

The fellow audience members were too tall, too excited to acknowledge Yachi still sitting in her seat and pushed past her in an attempt to get to the exit quicker. What she needed was an escape route- somewhere away from the crowds where she could breathe.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the fabric of the tent rustling. _Something's out there,_ she thought and a bead of sweat trickled down her forehead, _what if they have dangerous animals here and ones escaped? What if it's a lion?! If it eats me my parents will never find me and they'll think I've run away forever!!!_

But instead of sharp teeth and a wild long mane clawing through the tent walls, slender pale fingers opened a gap in the material and Kiyoko's face appeared.

"This way," she whispered in her quiet voice and Yachi felt a tug at her heart- one that pulled her straight towards Kiyoko and out of the busy tent, into a backstage area of the circus.

No one else was around, other than herself and Kiyoko, who gave her a small smile. 

"T-thank you for saving me," stammered Yachi, as though she'd been rescued from a stampede (which wasn't very far from reality), "your show was amazing, I loved every second of it!"

"No, thank _you_ for coming to see my show," she sounded shy and Yachi appreciated she wasn't the only one, "We've never brought the circus here before, but it's been a good turnout tonig- What's wrong?"

Yachi had been thinking about how much she would love to visit the circus again, but now that Kiyoko had mentioned Karasuno Circus was a traveling one, she realised just how quickly it would disappear from her life and never return. Kiyoko put a hand on her shoulder and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't worry, we're here all week. So you can come visit every night... If you want to, that is." Kiyoko murmured bashfully.

"Of course!" Yachi felt giddy at the thought of seeing Kiyoko perform again.

"Great! If you're lucky, I might even make you my apprentice," Kiyoko winked and that was the last straw- the magician had Yachi's heart in her hands, and Yachi had no intention of trying to claim it back.

"I-I'm... I'm just gonna.. _Gaaaah_ bye!"

Yachi had no idea what her plans were, but when she stopped talking to take hold of Kiyoko's hand and plant a kiss there, she knew she was trying to be romantic, but was coming off as awkward- in her opinion anyway.

She turned and jogged towards the main area of the circus- she tripped on the way there as well and she hoped not too many people witnessed it. Of course though, Kiyoko would - _she's probably laughing at me,_ thought Yachi- and he glanced over at her. Kiyoko was smiling fondly though while clutching the hand Yachi kissed to her chest. She waved with her other hand when she saw Yachi staring, so Yachi waved back. She'd see her tomorrow; she promised herself that.

 

While walking back home, Yachi wondered if the urge she felt to visit the circus -that pull of gravity- hadn’t really been towards the circus, but to Kiyoko all along...

**Author's Note:**

> I was gonna end it with something like "the voice that was calling her to the circus was the same as Kiyoko's" but then I was like "no that's spooky???" but I think that ending was a lot better ^_^
> 
> Please let me know what you thought or if there was any grammar issues :D (I haven't edited/beta'd it yet)


End file.
